Fub cleaning machine



Nov. 6, 1945. N. ROOT 2,388,619

FUR CLEANING MACHINE Filed April 7; 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Nov. 6, 1945.00

FUR CLEANING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Shet 2 Filed April 7, 1945 N. ROOT FURCLEANING MACHINE Nov. 6, 1945.

Filed April '7, 1945 4 Sheei's-Sheet 3 Nov. 6, 1945. N. ROOT FURCLEANING MACHINE Filed April '7, 1945 4 Sheets-Sheet 4llriilntlrllilllillilltltl i1 illIt1ifllliliflllillllillllfll v 'zazz'Patented Nov. 6, 1945 i UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE accasis FUR CLEANINGNathan Rootrfirand l tapids, Mich. Application April ,7, 1945-, SerialNo. 587,121 I 101269-23) Claims.

This invention-relates to a fur cleaning machine, sometimes referred toin the trade as a fur drum.- It hasmore particular reference to amachine adapted to-the cleaning of garments comprising animal fur,wherein the garment is tumbled in a, rotating drum in the presence ofspecially compounded cleaning materials; usually wood: sawdustimpregnated or combined with suitable solvents and/or detergents.

in the cleaning of fur garments the method commonly utilized is to place.the garments loosely in a drumadapted to be rotated relatively slowly,andto cleanse the 'fur while therein by. the action of a mixture ofsawdust combined or impregnated with asuitable solvent and/or detergent.Bythus tumbling the garments and sawdust, the latter acts to carry thecleansing materials deeply into the pelt andto retain them in intimatecontact with the hair andskin' until sufficient time has elapsed forthorough cleansing to have occurred.

To be ef'fic'acious, the prepared sawdust must be maintained incleansing contact for the predetermined period of time, and followingthe cleansing the sawdust must be thoroughly. shaken employeda singleperforate drum rotating within acasing. The sawdust is'deliveredtowithin the drum by scoops rotating-therewith to lift sawdust from thedrum casing and to drop the same through'the drum. The sawdust isintended to perform its function .while passing from the point ofdelivery above to the lowestpoint of the drum whereat-it is sifted outthrough the perforations and into the casing; Removal of residualsawdust is accomplished by rotating the drum while the scoops aremanually put out of action. Thus the second class of machines sufiersfrom its inability to retain the sawdust within the drumsuilicientlylong to yield a thorough cleansing action. The thirdclass-of'machines utilizes a single cylindrical drum having-a peripheralopening. During cleaning the-opening. is .covered by a solid panelmanually slidinto placeove'r the being stationary.

opening. For disposal of the sawdust following thecleaning phase themachine is stopped, the solid panel removed, andta screen inserted inplace'thereof, whereby upon further tumbling the sawdust is shaken outthrough the screen.

In one form of the machine of my invention only one drum, together witha concentric shutter, is utilized. The drum is provided with a pluralityof peripherally spaced, screened openings, and the shutter is providedwith a plurality of leaves equal in numberito-the number of openings,and the shutter is adapted to be operated sothat in the cleansingphasethe, leaves block the screened openingstoiretain the sawdust in thedrum, but whene shaking out is to be accomplished the operator may,quickly positionlthe, shutter with its-leaves out of. register with theopenings, and upon further rotation the sawdust is shaken out throughthe screenedvopenings to a container disposed below Repositioning of theshutter leaves for a'subsequent batch is immediately accomplishedirrespective of whether the drum is rotating.

. Accordingly, the principal object of my invention is the provision ina fur-cleaning machine utilizing sawdust or similar particulate materialcapable ofthe same use'in'fur cleaning, and with .o withoutsolvents-anddetergents; of a single drum ,for both cleaning and shaking-out andinstantaneously convertible from a cleaning drum to a drum for -shakingout the particulate material ifrom the fur.

' 4 Still a further object is the provision in a furcleaning machine ofa drum and a shutter revoluble therewith, the drum having a, pluralityof screened openings in the periphery thereof and the shutter having anequal plurality of leaves adapted to block said openings or to exposethem.

Another object is the provision of a drum and shutter cooperative.therewith as aforesaid, the drum, and shutter being adapted to rotateas a and theshutter being operable at selected intervals under thecontrol of the operator to position the shutter in screen-blocking orscreenexposing positions.

A. further object is the provision of manual means for actuating therevolving shutter with respect to the revolving drum intoscreen-blocking or screen-exposing positions, the said means Anotherobject is the provision of resilient driv- ,ing connections between theshutter and the drum so that upon actuation of the manual meansaforesaid; the shutter changes from screenexposing to screen-blockingposition instantaneously.

Other objects will appear as the description proceeds.

In the drawings, which show one preferred form of my, invention,

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the machine;

Fig. 2 is a rear elevational view of the machine;

Fig. 3 is a cross section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a cross section taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a cross section taken on the line 55 of Fig. 2 and showing theshutter in screen-exposing position;

Fig. 6 is a cross section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4.;

Fig. '7 is a cross section taken on the line I'I of Fig. 4;

Fig. 8 is a view similar to that of Fig, 3 but of an alternative form ofthe invention; and

Fig. 9 is a view similar to that of Fig. 4 but of the form of theinvention shown in Fig. 8.

In the several views some parts have been shown broken away for clarity,

Referring to Fig. 1, the machine comprises a rectangular base II] towhich is secured by any suitable means the casing II comprising frontand rear panels I2 and I3, respectively, having inturned .base flangesI4 and I5, respectively, for securing the same to the base I0. As moreclear1y shown in Fig. 4, the panels I2 and I3 each comprise a circularportion extending downwardly into a substantially rectangular portion.Joining the panels I2 and I3 is the peripheral casing portion I6substantially cylindrical in form and extending downwardly in straightportions to correspond with the contour of the panels I2 and I3. FlangesI! and I8 serve to secure the portion I6 to the base III, and the entirecasing II is welded or otherwise suitably joined to yield a rigid,box-like structure.

Attached as by bolts 2| to the panel I3 is the housing 22 havinga'cylindrical aperture 23 into which is pressed the pair ofanti-friction bushings 24. Adapted to rotate within the bushings 24 isthe hollow shaft 25 and integral therewith is the flange 26 attached bymeans of rivets 21 to the shutter 28. The shutter 28 comprises asubstantially circular disc 29 having three integral shutter-leaves 32extending at right angles thereto and attached by means of rivets 33. Itwill be noted that the leaves 32 are imperforate and extend in a planeconcentric with the casing I6. Although three leaves 32 are illustrated,it will be understood from what follows that there may be more or less.

Pressed into the aperture 36 of the hollow shaft 25 is a pair ofanti-friction bushings 31 and adapted to rotate within said bushings isthe shaft 38 having an integral flange 39 riveted as at M to the drumproper 42.

Drum 42 is cylindrical in form and comprises a circular rear wall 43 andan annular front wall 44, there being an aperture 45 in the front wall44 flanged as at 46 to provide rigidity and a smooth entrance for accessto the interior of the drum 42. drum 42 is provided with a plurality ofrectangular openings 5| equal in number to the number of shutters 32,the said openings 5I being filled by a wire mesh screen 52, The size of-mesh is relatively unimportant except that it;

cannot be so large as to damage the garments or so small as to interferewith rapid disposal of The cylindrical Wall 41 of the.

low shaft 25, as well as by the flanged collar 54 attached by means of asetscrew 55 to the shaft 38.

The wall 43 of the drum 42 carries a pair of pins I4I preferablydiametrally opposed to each other and adapted to engage a pair ofarcuate slots I42 through the shutter 28, The latter is also providedwith a pair of generall arcuate openings I43 also preferably positioneddiametrally opposite one another and intermediate the slots I42.Through'apertures I 44 adjacent one end of the slots I43 are attachedsprings I45, the opposite end of each spring being attached to a pin I46carried by the wall 43,

Through the front wall I2 of the casing there is provided an aperture 6Ireinforced by a flanged rim 62, Mounted on the panel I2 is a pair ofears 63 upon which is hung the door 64, the arms 65 and pins 66 servingto support the door swingably on the ears 63. The door 64 is preferablycircular in form and of sufficient extent to cover the opening 6| andmay, furthermore, be provided with a finished face 61 equipped with agasket, if desired, to provide a tight seal when the door is locked. Asuitable handle II engaging a catch I2 affixed to the panel I2 serves tolock the door 64.

Interposed between the housing 22 and the collar 54 is the pulley I3,the hub 14 of which carries the setscrew I5 to lock the pulley 13 to thehollow shaft 25. The hub 14 has a circular aperture 16 parallel to theaxis thereof and positionedint'ermediate the bore and peripher of thehub I4, and the collar 54 has an identical aperture 11 spaced the sameradial distance from their common center of rotation, but the twoapertures are adapted to be brought into register only under certainoperating conditions to be hereinafter detailed.

Adapted to swing in the bifurcated end of a support 8I outstanding from.the pane] I3 is the yoke 82' (Figs. 2 and 5), one end thereof beingpivoted on pins 83 adapted to engage apertures in the support 8|. Yoke82 comprises a substantially thin flat member centrally ribbed as at 84for rigidity, and provided with an enlarged annular portion85'determining a circular aperture 86. Adapted to travel on theperiphery of the aperture 86 is the pin 9I which includes a, pair offlanges 92 integral with a straight cylindrical portion 93 slidableWithin the aperture 11. Thus it will be noted that when the collar 54 isrotated, it may carry with it the pin 9I the latter being constrained totravel a circularv path inside of the aperture 86 but being permittedaxial movement only upon corresponding movement of the yoke 82. At itsfree end the yoke 82 is provided with an guided for axial movement in abracket 9! attached to the panel I3, and threadedly engaged in a secondbracket 98 affixed to the panel I2.

At its forward end the rod 96 is bent to form a crank 99 having a;handle I02.

The pulley 13 may be provided with a grooved mosphere.

rotate the. drum 42.

assent reducer unit H4 and motor I15 is-well known and may be'of thekind in whichthe gear reducer housing is a part of one of the housingsof the motor and in which the driving gear is coupled directly tothemotor armature, or the gear reducer H4 may be a separately mountedunit the input shaft ofwhich is connected by a suitable coupling to theshaft of the motor. A suitable switch" (not shown) servesto-start'andstop the motor II'5. 'At' the base "of the casing II isprovided a drawer I2l having'a front 122, handle I23, and

narrower aperture coextensive with the drawer Preferably the lowerstraight sides of the peripheral portion I6 of the casing II areprovided with Venting apertures 128 comprising, for example, openingsscreened by a suitable perforate material. Thus noxious fumes emitted bythe detergent material may be vented freely to at- T supplement theventing openings I28 there may beprovided a motor driven blower I3Icarried on a bracket I32 attached by any suitable means on the panel I3.The intake duct I33 of the blower is connected into the top of'theperipheral portion I6 of the cabinet as-at I34. The exhaustopening I35of the blower is open to atmosphere. During operation-of the machine themotor driven blower I3I will be placed in operation to draw fumes fromthe machine and exhaust them harmlessly to the outside air.

. 1 er i n I In using the machine the door 64 is opened, the furgarmentsinserted throughtheopenings 6| and45 and deposited within thedrum 42. Then predetermined amount of the proper cleaning material, forexample,- wood sawdust impregnated will drive-the pulley I3 which,through the hollow shaft 36, will drive'the shutter 28 in a clockwisedirection as viewed in Fig.4. Thus the trailing end ofthe slots I42 willengage the pins I4I to It will be-noted that in this relative positionof the drum 42 and shutter 28 the leaves. 32 block the screened openings52. Consequently the fur garments and cleaning substance are tumbledtogether within the drum until it is determined that the garments areproperly cleaned. During this-portion of the process,

- known inf-the trade as drummingP'Iit will: be

obvious that the garments and the sawdust are retained within thecabinet in. thenecess'ary intimacy of contact, and that the tumblingmotion of the garments and sawdust will efiect an efficient cleansingaction, the fragmentary particles being brought down and around thehairs in a thorough but gentle manner, all as known to the art. Whilethis occurs, any noxious fumes escape through the vents I28 orareexhausted through the duct I33 and fanI3I- At the completion of thedrumming phase, the motor H5 is stopped, whereupon the springs I45 willcontract to rotate the drum 42 clockwise until the latter is stopped bythe pins I4! striking the leading. 'end of the slots I42. Such relativeshifting of the drum with respect to the shutter will move the screenedopenings 52 out from beneath the shutter leaves 32 (Fig. 5) to exposethe said openings. The angle subtended by the ends of the slots I42,taking into account the diameter of. the pins MI, is equal to the anglebetween a radial line through the pin 9I anda radial line through theaperture I6 when drumming is being performed. Accordingly, when the drum42 shifts relatively to the shutter 28 as aforesaid, the pin 9i will bebrought into register with the aperture 18. The handle I02 is. nowturned to actuate the yoke 32 inwardly of the machine to slide the pin9| into the aperture I6. .The motor H5 is again started and the pulley.l'3 may now, through the pin 9|, rotate notonly the shutter 28, but thedrum 42, and such continued rotation will shake the sawdust out of thedrum and garments through the openings .52an'd chute I41 and into thedrawer I24.

After a sufiicient length of time has elapsed for all of the sawdust tobe thoroughly shaken-out of the garments and from the drum 42, themachine is stopped and thegarments removed. The sawdust in the drawerI24 may be re-used as is or blended with fresh material, depending uponthe degree of exhaustion of the detergent elements therefrom.

To prepare the machine for the next cycle, the handle I02 is rotated inthe opposite direction to withdraw the pin. 9| from the aperture I6.Accordingly, when drumming is recommenced the rotation of the shutter 28will return it to that position relative to the drum 42 shown in Fig. 4,the springs I45 then being extended for as long as the motor is driving.I

In Figs. Sand 9 there is shown an alternativ I form of the apparatus,the yoke 82, pin 9|, hub

54 and their associated parts, as well as the springs I45, beingomitted. In this embodiment the motor H5 is of the reversing typeprovided with astop-start-reverse switch, I5I mounted in any suitableplace convenient for the operator.

. the slots I42. .Inthat positiontheshutter 28,

instead of driving the pins I4-I throughthe ends of the slots shown incontact therewith in Fig. 9, will drive the pins by contact with theopposite ends of the slots. It will be noted that in such relativedriving position of the shutter'28 and drum 42, the leaves 32 exposethe'openings 52 with the same results-as explained in connection withthe main embodiment. J a i Although the description herein is directedto a machine of the type disclosed, in which the drum is renderedshiftable with respect to the shutter when it is desired to transferfrom the cleaning phase to the shaking out phase, I desire to includewithin the scope of the specification and claims a machine soconstructed that the shutter may shift relatively to the drum. Thiscould be accomplished, for example, by driving the drum andinterconnecting the shutter with the drum through the use of a pin andaperture as already detailed. The gist of the invention lies in therelative shifting of the drum and shutter in order to effectuate theopening and closing of the screened openings, and accordingly it will beunderstood that this object may be reached if the drum were the drivingmember and the shutter the driven member, this involving merely a simplereversal of these two principal parts of the apparatus and the necessaryslight rearrangement of the remaining parts associated therewith, all ofwhich is deemed within the skill of the art.

While I have shown particular embodiments of my invention, it will beunderstood, of course, that I do not wish to be limited thereto sincemany modifications may be made, and I therefore contemplate by theappended claims to cover any such modifications as fall within the truespirit and scope of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

1. A cleaning machine adapted to receive fur garments and a particulatecleaning material comprising in combination a supporting structure, asource of power, a hollow cylindrical drum to receive the garments andmaterial and supported for rotation in said structure and having aplurality of apertures therein, a shutter member provided with leavesequal to the number of said apertures and each leaf being at leastcoextensive with an associated aperture, said member being supported forrotation in said structure, means connecting said source with saidmember for rotation thereof, means intermediate said drum and memberwhereby rotation of said member rotates said drum, resilient meansintermediate said drum and member normally urging said member and drumin opposite angular directions with respect to each other, andselectively operable means to lock said drum and member with respect toeach other whereby driving of said member drives said drum to positionsaid leaves in register with said apertures and interruption of saiddriving permits said leaves to move out of register with saidaperturesunder urging of said resilient means.

2. A cleaning machine adapted to receive fur garments and a particulatecleaning material comprising in combination a supporting structure, asource of power, a hollow cylindrical drum to receive the garments andmaterial and supported for rotation in said structure, the periphery ofsaid drum having spaced perforate zones, a shutter member provided withleaves equal to the number of said zones and each leaf being at leastcoextensive with an associated zone, said member being supported forrotation in said structure, means connecting said source with saidmember for rotation thereof, means intermediate said drum and memberwhereby rotation of said member rotates said drum, resilient meansintermediate said drum and member normally urging said member and drumin opposite angular directions with respect to each other, andselectively operable means tolock said drum and member with respect toeach other whereby driving of said member drives said drum to positionsaid leaves in register with said zones and interruption of said drivingpermits said zones to move out of register with said leaves under urgingof said resilient means.

3. A machine for drumming and shaking-out fur garments including the useof a particulate cleaning material comprising in combination a frame, ahollow drum to receive the garments and material and supported forrotation in said frame, said drum having a plurality of spaced perforatezones in the periphery thereof, a shutter member having a plurality ofelements equal to the number of zones and each element being at leastcoextensive with an associated zone, the said member being supported forrotation in said frame, and the said elements being adapted to blocksaid zones during drumming, means for driving said member, meansintermediate said drum and member whereby said member drives said drum,means for shifting said member and drum angularly with respect to eachother, and selectively operable means to lock said drum and member withrespect to each other when said drum and member are shifted, the saidelements moving out of blocking position upon said shifting, wherebycontinued rotation of the drum and shutter efiectuates shaking-out thematerial from the garments and drum. 4. A cleaning machine adapted toreceive fur garments and a particulate cleaning material comprising incombination a frame, a drum to receive the garments and material andsupported for rotation in said frame, said drum having a plurality ofspaced perforate zones in the wall thereof, a shutter member having aplurality of imperforate elements equal to the number of zones and eachelement being at least coextensive with an associated zone and saidelements being adapted to be operated into and out of register with saidzones, said member being supported for rotation in said frame, means fordriving said member, means intermediate said drum and member wherebysaid member drives said drum, means for shifting said shutter and drumangularly oppositely with respect to each other to move said elementsinto and out of registering position.

5. A machine for drumming and shaking-out fur garments including the useof a particulate cleaning material comprising in combination a frame, acontainer to receive the garments and material and supported forrotation in said frame, said container having a plurality of aperturestherein, a member supported for rotation in said frame and having aplurality of apertures, said member during the drumming phase beingpositioned with its non-apertured portions blocking the apertures insaid container and means selectively operable to position the aperturesin said member in register with the apertures in said container for theshaking-out phase, and means for rotating said container and member as aunit.

6. A machine for drumming and shaking-out fur garments including the useof a particulate cleaning material comprising in combination a frame, acontainer to receive the garments and material and supported forrotation in said frame. said container having a plurality of aperturestherein, a member supported for rotation in said frame and having aplurality of apertures, said member during the drumming phase beingpositioned with its non-apertured portions blocking the apertures insaid container, driving means connected to said member, meansintermediate said container and drum whereby rotation of said member isimparted to said drum, resilient means intermediate said container anddrum effective upon termination of rotation of said member to rotatesaid drum with respect to said member to position the apertures in saiddrum and in said member in register, and means to lock said drum andcontainer in said last-mentioned position.

7. A machine for drumming and shaking-out fur garments including the useof a particulate cleaning material comprising in combination a frame, acontainer to receive the garments and material and supported forrotation in said frame, said container having a plurality ofperforations therein, a member associated with said container andsupported for rotation in said frame and havin a plurality ofperforations therein, said member during the drumming phase beingpositioned with its imperforate portions blocking the perforations insaid container, driving means connected to said member, said containerbeing provided with a plurality of elements and said member having alike plurality of arcuate openings, the said elements being adapted toengage with said openings to form a driving connection between saidmember and container, a plurality of elements interconnecting saidcontainer and member and normally adapted to bias the member withrespect to the container angularly in a direction opposite to the normaljoint direction of rotation of the said member and container wherebyupon interruption of the rotation of said container and member saidcontainer is shifted angularly with respect to said member to efiectregistration of the said two sets of perforations.

8. A cleaning machine adapted to receive fur garments and a particulatecleaning material comprising in combination a frame, a hollow,cylindrical drum to receive the garments and material and supported forrotation in said frame, a plurality of screened openings in theperiphery of said drum, a circular member juxtaposed to one end of saiddrum and rotatably supported in said frame and having a like pluralityof vanes adapted to be positioned to block said openings or to exposesaid openings, means for rotating said member, said member having a,plurality of arcuate slots and said drum having a like plurality ofelements each adapted to engage a slot associated therewith wherebyrotation of said member imparts rotation to said drum, a plurality ofresilient elements interconnecting said drum and member, said resilientelements being so proportioned that the inertia of the drum, itsassociated parts and contents during joint rotation of the drum andmember tends to bias the said elements to a stressed condition such thatupon interruption of said joint rotation of said drum and member saidelements will angularly displace said drum with respect to said memberto move the said vanes from blocking position to nonblocking position.

9. A fur cleaning machine adapted to clean furs by the use of aparticulate detergent material and to shake out said material aftercompletion of the cleaning phase comprising in combination a rotatablecylindrical drum having a plurality of apertures in the peripherythereof, a shutter member having a like plurality of leaves and adaptedto rotate with said drum, said leaves being at least coextensive withsaid apertures and positioned during the cleaning phase inapertureblocking position, said drum being adapted to be shiftedangularly relative to said shutter, means for imparting rotation to saiddrum and member, means for actuating said drum relative to said shutterafter completion of the cleaning phase to shift said drum and toposition said leaves in aperture-exposing position. 7

10. A fur cleaning machine adapted to clean furs by the use of aparticulate detergent material and including a drumming phase and ashakingout phase comprising in combination a rotatable drum to receivethe furs and material and havin a plurality of apertures therein, meansto rotate said drum, a shutter shiftable relatively to said drum andadapted to rotate with said drum and having a plurality of leaves, eachsaid leaf being associated with a said aperture, said leaves beingpositioned during the drumming phase to block said apertures and adaptedupon such relative shifting of said shutter and drum to expose saidapertures for the shaking-out phase, and means for effecting saidshifting.

NATHAN ROOT.

